Review for From the Ashes

[DBSommer]

Review for From the Ashes...
3/26/10

Prazak and Joe Dobrowski on commentary

Since we're out in Phoenix for a double shot (this title ties into the ...'Phoenix Rising' title for Night 2) there's a lot of West Coast talent not normally in ROH. So we'll open up with some:

6 Man Mayhem: Joey Ryan vs. Shawn Daivari vs. Johnny Goodtime vs. Human Tornado vs. Colt Cabana vs. Rasche Brown

Ryan and Daivari are in the Embassy and work together. Brown starts off in the ring, so no one wants to be the other guy in there. Once he leaves Tornado and Goodtime open things up, but things break down fast. There's not much flow to it as guys go in and out and back and forth and all but The Embassy beat on one another. Ending comes when Cabana locks on the Billy Goat's Curse for the tap out on Goodtime.

**1/2

The Kings of Wrestling (Claudio Castagnoli & Chris Hero) vs. Scott Lost & Scorpio Sky

A first ROH appearance for both PWG regulars. KOW jump the Dynasty but Lost and Sky are too good to stay down for long. The PWGers play the role of underdogs who keep coming back on the KOW no matter what he Kings do. Or at least until they finally hit the KRS1 for the pin.

***1/2. Some might find it high, but I thought it was really good.

Alex Koslov vs. Rocky Romero

Koslov's promo is in both Spanish and Russian. Romero's is in English. Go figure. These guys just fought against each other twice in ROH in both tag and singles bouts during the FB 09 weekend, with Rocky winning both. Koslov is determined to avenge the loses, but Romero doesn't take things lying down both in kicking and shaking his ass. They have great chemistry together and it shows. It's a nice match that ends when Rocky goes for his off the top rope arm bar, but gets rolled over into a pin.

***1/4. I like Koslov more than most, and it was nice to see him finally lands that elusive victory in ROH.

Bison Smith cuts a promo swearing he'll make Necro bleed. Silly Bison, Necro does that all on his own.

Bison Smith vs. Necro Butcher

Surprise, the match starts out in the crowd and stays there for a while. Prazak actually says the ref is giving the guys some leinency since it's not a no DQ match, though every match Necro is in feels like one. After running around for a while, Bison just kind of walks off leaving Necro with a count out victory.

DUD. This was a horrible waste of time

Kenny Omega vs. Kevin Steen

Omega is back. Yay! I love that guy. However he isn't given much offense before Steen starts beating on him. He works slowly and a bit too long and it negatively affects the bout for me. This is not the type of match that's Omega's strength. He does get some offence in at the end and the fight finally feels like the top tier thing I was hoping for. Steen survives a couple of finishers, while Omega does the same to the first couple, but Steen locks in a crossface for the tap out.

***1/2. However I felt it underdelivered despite that score. It just felt like their styles didn't mesh very well. Others have given it a higher score, though.

El Generico vs. Steve Corino

This is an early entry into the war between Steen and Generico. I had just seen Generico vs. Corino on SOTF 11, and this match isn't quite up there with that one. It's good, but not great. After about 10 minutes it looks like Generico is about to win when Steen comes down and distracts him, allowing Corino to grab the win.

***1/4

Non-Title Personal Challenge Gauntlet: World Champ Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries

I think this is the first match the pair had since Aries dropped the title to Black. Aries looks sharp and has the advantage early. Black rallies a couple of times but Aries always has the answer. However Black manages to sneak in a roll up for the win. Aries starts a post match beatdown which leads into the second match...

Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong

Strong attacks Aries and drives him off, but only so he has an unimpeded shot at Black. Strong focuses on Black's arm, using a London Dungeon among other moves until Black fends him off. The pace on this one is better than the previous match, but probably because Black doesn't have to save anything in the tank now. Black gets what he thinks is a pin, but it turns out the ref saw Roddy's foot on the rope, and in the ensuing confusion Roddy hits a Sick Kick and Gibson Driver for the pin.

*** 1/2 total for both matches since they tie into one big one.

ECW Style Hardcore Match: Jerry Lynn vs. Kenny King

King took Lynn out a while back. The first shot Lynn had at revenge he sort of blew by locking King in a hold and not letting go. This time he can do whatever he wants. While Jerry wasn't a king of hardcore in ECW, he could still use an item or two. Lynn's veteran tactics keep King on the defensive for a good bit of the match. King starts to get some momentum and gets Lynn to bleed. A ladder gets introduced and there's a great bit with a powerbomb on a table only to bounce off rather than breaking it as well. Since it didn't break the first time, Lynn puts King through it with a Cradle Piledriver and pins him.

***1/4. Normally I don't go in for these sorts of matches, but this one worked.

World Tag Team Title Match: The Briscoes vs. The American Wolves (Davey Richards vs. Eddie Edwards)

The only question is how great this one will be. The answer, pretty damn good. The pace starts out slow, but only because the match goes long. These guys have been at it and against each other often enough they know how to build the match up. It's really two great tag teams at their best. After really great action, it takes a Jay Driller and Death Valley Driver to put Eddie down.

**** easy.

Overall rating: ***1/2. However in looking over others' reviews I tended to like this one more than just about everyone else. So be advised.

[ROHWorld_Steven]

Just checked my review which I posted on the site a long while ago, seems I liked the show less than you.

Shawn Daivari vs. Joey Ryan vs. Johnny Goodtime vs. Rasche Brown vs. Human Tornado vs. Colt Cabana - ★★ ½
Scott Lost & Scorpio Sky vs. The Kings of Wrestling - ★★ ½
Rocky Romero vs. Alex Koslov - ★★ ¼
Bison Smith vs. Necro Butcher - ★
Kevin Steen vs. Kenny Omega - ★★★ ¼
Steve Corino vs. El Generico - ★★ ½
Tyler Black vs. Austin Aries - ★★★
Tyler Black vs. Roderick Strong - ★★ ¾
Jerry Lynn vs. Kenny King - ★★ ¾
ROH World Tag Team Title Match – The Briscoes © vs. The American Wolves - ★★★★ ¼

Overall: ★★★

[DBSommer]

Just checked my review which I posted on the site a long while ago, seems I liked the show less than you.

Can't say I'm surprised. I was curious as to how others rated it so I looked up a few reviews on youtube. My ratings tended to be higher than most on this one nearly across the board, and I qualified a couple of the bouts with that warning. The only match where I seemed to go against the general trend was Omega Steen, which people liked more than me. Some were giving it 4 stars which boggled my mind, and I like both guys. But it's all subjective. Even guys I agree with most of the time within a 1/2 star or so, every now and then you have that one match you really disagree with. I think that's why when I consider buying something I look over multiple reviews to see if I can get an overall feel for the quality of a card, with more weight being given to those I tend to agree with over time. It's useful. I think I will add that qualifier since I did go against the general trend on this one.